The Insufficiency Of Human Morality And Works For Salvation
Romans 3:20 (ESV)u"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin."
"BY WORKS OF THE LAW NO HUMAN BEING WILL BE JUSTIFIED." This is a plain and universal statement. No person, regardless of their moral effort or religious practice, can be made right with God through their own conduct. The purpose of the law is not to save, but to reveal the reality of our sin.
Titus 3:5 (ESV)u"he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."
"NOT BECAUSE OF WORKS DONE BY US IN RIGHTEOUSNESS." Salvation is explicitly disconnected from our "righteous" deeds. It is based entirely upon the mercy of God. To suggest that moral concerns or practices make one right with God is to flatly contradict this statement of Scripture.
Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)u"We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."
"ALL OUR RIGHTEOUS DEEDS ARE LIKE A POLLUTED GARMENT." Even the very best acts a human being can perform are tainted by sin when viewed by a holy God. If our "best" is considered "polluted," it is impossible for those deeds to provide a basis for standing before God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)u"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
"NOT A RESULT OF WORKS." God has designed salvation in such a way that human boasting is excluded. If a man could be right with God through his moral practices, he would have reason to boast. The Bible declares it is "not your own doing" but a "gift."
Galatians 2:21 (ESV)u"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."
"THEN CHRIST DIED FOR NO PURPOSE." This is the ultimate logical conclusion of trusting in morality. If human moral practices could make a person right with God, then the death of Jesus Christ was an unnecessary tragedy. To trust in one's own goodness is to say that ChristAs sacrifice was useless.
Proposition: The Bible teaches in the most explicit terms that no amount of moral concern, religious practice, or "righteous" living can justify a person before God. Salvation is a gift of grace received through faith, entirely apart from human works.
On Fri, 08 May 2026 18:56:06 -0500, Christ Rose
<usenet@christrose.news> wrote: dv
The Insufficiency Of Human Morality And Works For Salvation
Romans 3:20 (ESV)rCo"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin."
"BY WORKS OF THE LAW NO HUMAN BEING WILL BE JUSTIFIED." This is a plain and universal statement. No person, regardless of their moral effort or religious practice, can be made right with God through their own conduct. The purpose of the law is not to save, but to reveal the reality of our sin.
Titus 3:5 (ESV)rCo"he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."
"NOT BECAUSE OF WORKS DONE BY US IN RIGHTEOUSNESS." Salvation is explicitly disconnected from our "righteous" deeds. It is based entirely upon the mercy of God. To suggest that moral concerns or practices make one right with God is to flatly contradict this statement of Scripture.
Then did Jesus lie here?
21. "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22. "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many
wonders in Your name?'
23. "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from
Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (Mt 7:21-23; NKJV)
Thus their 'works' condemned them.
Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)rCo"We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."
"ALL OUR RIGHTEOUS DEEDS ARE LIKE A POLLUTED GARMENT." Even the very best acts a human being can perform are tainted by sin when viewed by a holy God. If our "best" is considered "polluted," it is impossible for those deeds to provide a basis for standing before God.
Their works must mean something to God:
-- New King James
1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he
who does the will of God abides forever.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)rCo"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
"NOT A RESULT OF WORKS." God has designed salvation in such a way that human boasting is excluded. If a man could be right with God through his moral practices, he would have reason to boast. The Bible declares it is "not your own doing" but a "gift."
Galatians 2:21 (ESV)rCo"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."
"THEN CHRIST DIED FOR NO PURPOSE." This is the ultimate logical conclusion of trusting in morality. If human moral practices could make a person right with God, then the death of Jesus Christ was an unnecessary tragedy. To trust in one's own goodness is to say that ChristrCOs sacrifice was useless.
So then, one can commit immorality but not have God take that into
account on judgment day?
Proposition: The Bible teaches in the most explicit terms that no amount of moral concern, religious practice, or "righteous" living can justify a person before God. Salvation is a gift of grace received through faith, entirely apart from human works.
But have you forgotten Jas 2:26?
-- New King James
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also.
So do you have a "dead" faith?
========================================
Sat, 09 May 2026 11:06:53 -0400
<s6fuvkd57q142ggjpgcfubhuq64mm5ls3i@4ax.com>
Satan's Witness (SW) <zebrabible@proton.me> wrote: >========================================
On Fri, 08 May 2026 18:56:06 -0500, Christ Rose
<usenet@christrose.news> wrote: dv
The Insufficiency Of Human Morality And Works For Salvation
Romans 3:20 (ESV)u"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin."
"BY WORKS OF THE LAW NO HUMAN BEING WILL BE JUSTIFIED." This is a plain and universal statement. No person, regardless of their moral effort or religious practice, can be made right with God through their own conduct. The purpose of the law is not to save, but to reveal the reality of our sin.
Titus 3:5 (ESV)u"he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."
"NOT BECAUSE OF WORKS DONE BY US IN RIGHTEOUSNESS." Salvation is explicitly disconnected from our "righteous" deeds. It is based entirely upon the mercy of God. To suggest that moral concerns or practices make one right with God is to flatly contradict this statement of Scripture.
Then did Jesus lie here?
Jesus did not contradict Paul, and Paul did not contradict Jesus. There
is harmony Any view which seeks to pit one Scripture against another, or
one Bible doctrine against another, tries to divide Scripture and
promote deceit.
21. "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22. "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many
wonders in Your name?'
23. "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from
Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (Mt 7:21-23; NKJV)
Thus their 'works' condemned them.
idem. You did not even try to show a harmony between what Jesus taught
and what Paul taught. You can't. Your "interpretation" of Jesus' words
has to contradict what Paul taught, or it RUINS your desired heresy.
That alone shows that you are a twisted liar.
The correct answer is that Jesus' words do not contradict what Paul
taught, or what James taught. You've already been shown this repeatedly.
Paul's talking about justification in the sense of how _God_ makes and >declares a person righteous. That happens ONLY by grace, ONLY through
faith, and ONLY apart from our works, or you're condemned (Galatians
1:8-9; 2, 3; Romans 4, Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5, etc.).
Jesus, James, and John (in the isolated snippets you cited) are talking >about justification in the sense of how you SHOW yourself to be
righteous to men. That can only be done by fruit and good works. Fruit
and good works are the result and evidence of truly saving faith.
Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)u"We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."
"ALL OUR RIGHTEOUS DEEDS ARE LIKE A POLLUTED GARMENT." Even the very best acts a human being can perform are tainted by sin when viewed by a holy God. If our "best" is considered "polluted," it is impossible for those deeds to provide a basis for standing before God.
Their works must mean something to God:
Again, you can't show any harmony between your "interpretation" of a few >snippets, and what the Bible teaches in an abundance of clear
references. You simply ignore one verse, then propose a contradictory >"interpretation" of another verse somewhere else...
-- New King James
1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he
who does the will of God abides forever.
idem. You again give no account for the fact that all our righteousness
is as filthy rags to God (Isa. 64:6). "There is none righteous, no not
one" (Romans 3:10). The believer in Christ has the righteousness of
Christ imputed to His account (Romans 4:6). He is righteous not by his
own virtue or merits, but by having the righteousness of Christ credited
to his account through faith (Romans 4:5).
Further, as shown with Jesus and James above, the context of 1 John >expressly states it's showing how to discern between the children of God
and the children of the devil. It's not talking about how to get right
with God, but how to discern who is right with God through faith in Christ.
The one who does the will of God shows that He is believing in God. The >doing is the evidence of the believing. As far as how a person gets
right with God and escapes condemnation, it is only by grace, only
through faith, and only apart from our works. As far as how one discerns >whether someone else is righteous, that can only be done by examining
their works. We don't have a magic ball to see into their soul. We
discern by evaluating the works and fruit.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)u"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
"NOT A RESULT OF WORKS." God has designed salvation in such a way that human boasting is excluded. If a man could be right with God through his moral practices, he would have reason to boast. The Bible declares it is "not your own doing" but a "gift."
Galatians 2:21 (ESV)u"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."
"THEN CHRIST DIED FOR NO PURPOSE." This is the ultimate logical conclusion of trusting in morality. If human moral practices could make a person right with God, then the death of Jesus Christ was an unnecessary tragedy. To trust in one's own goodness is to say that ChristAs sacrifice was useless.
So then, one can commit immorality but not have God take that into
account on judgment day?
Not at all. Every sin will be taken into account. God cannot justly
forgive any sin at all, unless a sinless, substitutionary atonement
meets His righteous demands against that sin. The good news is that
Christ's death met God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans
3:21-26; 1 John 2:1-2). This means God has a just basis for forgiving
and cleansing the person who trusts in Christ.
As with the passover lamb, the benefits of that atonement are only
applied to the soul through faith. Those who reject it do not benefit
from it, and have no other sinless atonement which God will accept for
their sins.
Proposition: The Bible teaches in the most explicit terms that no amount of moral concern, religious practice, or "righteous" living can justify a person before God. Salvation is a gift of grace received through faith, entirely apart from human works.
But have you forgotten Jas 2:26?
Idem. See above and below.
-- New King James
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also.
So do you have a "dead" faith?
Exactly. James expressly said "show me your faith without works, and
I'll show you my faith BY my works" (James 2:18). He's not talking about >justification in the sense of how you BECOME right with God, but in how
you SHOW men your faith.
Conclusion:
You can't justify yourself in the sense of BECOMING right with God by
doing good works, but only by faith in Christ's death and resurrection
for your sins (Romans 3:24-25).
On the other hand, you can't justify yourself in the sense of SHOWING
men you are righteous without fruit (Matthew 7:20) and good
works (James 2:18; 1 John 2-5, etc.). Faith without works is dead.
That's the harmony which does not have to pit one Scripture and doctrine >against another. Both are correct and harmonious.
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